Marine Liner

Since 1 October 2003, the Marine Liner has been operated by JR West 223-5000 series EMU trainsets. The car at the Takamatsu end of all trains (except some early morning/late night trains) is a JR Shikoku 5000 series bi-level (double-deck) cab car with reserved seating. Previously, 213 series EMUs were used.^[1]

From Okayama to Takamatsu, all Marine Liner trains stop at Chayamachi, Kojima and Sakaide. Most trains also stop at either Senoo or Hayashima, or both. Some early morning and late evening trains make additional stops at intermittent stations on the Seto-Ohashi and Yosan lines.

Unlike the other express trains between Okayama and Shikoku which are Limited Express services (Shiokaze to Matsuyama and Nanpu to Kōchi), the Marine Liner is classified as a "Rapid" (快速, kaisoku) service with only a standard fare required. Passengers may upgrade to reserved seating in the bi-level (double-deck) car, in both standard seats (lower deck) or Green Car seats (upper deck and 4 observation seats behind the driver's cab) for an additional fee.^[1][2]

A crew change for the train driver and conductor occurs at Kojima, the boundary station between the two operating railways.

The Marine Liner runs over two sections known collectively as the Seto-Ohashi Line. The Okayama-Kojima section is operated by JR West¹, and the Kojima-Takamatsu section is operated by JR Shikoku².

¹Portions run over the JR Uno Line
²Portions run over the JR Yosan Line

Key (as of December 2006)

Services are formed as 2-, 3-, 5-, or 7-car formations as shown below with car 1 at the Takamatsu end. All cars are no smoking. Most of the trains use 5-car formations.

• Green: Green class (first class)
• White: Standard class
• G (green class), R (standard class): Reserved seats
• NR (standard class only): Non-reserved seats